Albert Lee-alike

[ragamuffin]

This build is my take on the EB Musicman Albert Lee. I wanted to go for a retro-modern aesthetic with quality, modern features and tailor it to my own tastes and preferences. Loving the result!

-Standard thin warhead neck in wenge with an ebony fretboard and no inlays. SS6105 frets and graphtech nut
-Body shaped from a rear routed Warmoth mahogany blank. Contoured heel, slightly relocated screw position, and countersunk ferrules.
-Finished in burgundy mist metallic nitro by Greg Grubaugh who did a beautiful job!
-Seymour Duncan Seth Lover and SL trembucker pickup swith raw nickel-silver covers, A4 and A8 magnets for a more balanced eq, tighter bass, and slightly higher output sound while keeping some vintage sweetness. The pickups are direct mounted using small threaded inserts and machine screws without damaging/modifying the pickup baseplates.
-Volume, treble, and basscut knobs, three way switch, and a push pull for a semi-out of phase middle position
-Hipshot contour bridge and locking tuners
-Trem tip, switch tip, and bass knob made of wenge by David King/Dknob

 

[rgand]

Looks good! Nice job, there.

 

[ragamuffin]

Looks good! Nice job, there.

Thanks Rgand!

 

[stratamania]

Excellent job  :icon_thumright:

 

[tompsy]

Hi! I want to do something similar. I have some questions

1. Why did you go Wenge instead of rosewood? I have a rosewood neck albert lee but hear good things about wenge. Have you played both?

2. Why did you choose that nut width? Wouldn't a "truer" nut width by 1/58 or 41mm?

3. How do you like the standard thin neck carve?

 

[ragamuffin]

Hi! I want to do something similar. I have some questions

1. Why did you go Wenge instead of rosewood? I have a rosewood neck albert lee but hear good things about wenge. Have you played both?

2. Why did you choose that nut width? Wouldn't a "truer" nut width by 1/58 or 41mm?

3. How do you like the standard thin neck carve?

Hey there!

I wanted to try wenge and liked the way it looks. I've played guitars with rosewood necks but never owned one (yet). Comparatively rosewood has a tighter grain and feels more smooth and "woodlike", wenge is more open and has a naturally waxy-er feel.

Yes, MusicMan guitars generally have a smaller nut. Personally I prefer the slightly wider 1 11/16; I'd had it on my previous Warmoth necks and didn't want to change.

The standard thin neck carve is supposed to be the most like a "standard" Fender C; to me however it feels slightly thinner and more of a C to D shape. Since I bought this neck I've come to prefer the 59' roundback profile, which is a little chunkier and more of a consistent C. If I could go back, I would order this neck with a 59' roundback, but I still love this guitar and play it frequently.

 

[bagman67]

With apologies for the necropost, @ragamuffin , can you tell me where you acquired the template for this body?

 

[bagman67]

Well, I searched a little harder and found my answer in this post, where I asked the question a few years ago:

Albert Lee-Alike: A project that will probably take me a while, but hey

I've been formulating this project in my head for the past couple of months, and I'm finally taking the first steps towards making it happen. I've been gas-ing for a modern H-H strat-type-thing (funny because for a long time I never got along with strats) and I fell in love with the Music Man...

unofficialwarmoth.com

And that answer is:

Guitar Building Templates

www.guitarbuildingtemplates.com

 

[ragamuffin]

Update: I loved the neck pickup tone on this guitar right off the bat, but the bridge pickup tone was always bright/thin and squawky/honky. After going through several different bridge pickups(Duncan Seth Lover, Vineham Whiskey Burner, Bare Knuckle Abraxas, and Duncan Custom with various magnets) over the past three-ish years I've finally found the perfect bridge pickup for this guitar.

About two weeks ago I swapped in a Dimarzio AT Andy Timmons bridge pickup and it's everything that I've been wanting! It's a thick and muscular sounding humbucker, but still somewhat in the p.a.f. family. It pushes the amp a little more than most of the pickups I have, which tend to be more vintage-y, and gives a great crunch tone. With the volume and bass cut rolled back just a bit and sounds very much like a traditional p.a.f. type and gets a nice bluesy/classic rock sound. It's not a total face melter, but rather a nicely balanced and versatile pickup in this guitar.

If you find your bridge humbucker tone to be thin/anemic/squawky like I have on this build I'd highly recommend this pickup as the solution!